The issues raised in this editorial indicate that public health research must embrace the advances made in the understanding of gender and other power dynamics, which influence the social distribution of health and illness among the population. Furthermore, it is crucial to recognize that social research (including that in health) is part of the social fabric - not separable from - the processes of power. Thus, a power perspective in public health can bring a more comprehensive and subtle understanding of the multiple and contradictory elements of gender and other relations of power that impact on the health status of populations.
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